Saddam Hussein may have escaped a second American attempt on his life after a bombing raid in Baghdad.

Saddam Hussein may have escaped a second American attempt on his life after a bombing raid in Baghdad.

Saddam and his two sons were believed to have been meeting in a bunker under the al-Saa restaurant in the al-Mansour area of Baghdad when the building was reduced to rubble by four 2,000lb bombs on Monday.

But the British foreign intelligence agency MI6 reportedly told the CIA it believes Saddam had left the building moments before.

The bombing left a gaping 60ft crater and there were reports of surrounding homes being destroyed and several civilian bodies being pulled from the rubble.

Iraqi rescue workers said up to 14 civilians were killed, including a child.

Brigadier General Vince Brooks said yesterday it might require detailed forensic work to establish whether Saddam and his sons, Uday and Qusay, were under the rubble of the flattened building.

Gen Brooks said: "We had credible information that there was a regime leadership meeting.

"We had an opportunity to attack that particular meeting and we believe the attack was effective in causing destruction of that facility.

"As to who was inside and what their conditions are, that will take some time. It's a very difficult challenge for us."

But one indication the Iraqi despot may have survived the attack came from US military officials, who said special forces were watching the roads leading north from Baghdad to Saddam's home town and power base of Tikrit.

US president George Bush said of Saddam at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Tony Blair in Belfast: "I don't know whether he survived.

"The only thing I know is that he's losing power."

Iraq's UN ambassador, Mohammed al-Douri, said yesterday he believed Saddam was alive, although al-Douri acknowledged he had not communicated with Baghdad.

Lieutenant Colonel Fred Swan, weapons system officer on the bomber, said: "We knew it was important and that it might be the big one.

"When we got the word that it was a priority leadership target, immediately you get kind of an adrenaline rush. But then you fall back to your training that says `let's get the job done'."